Improvement in grain-separators



No. 33,617 PATENTED OCT. 29, 1861.

' W. M. WATSON. GRAIN SEPARATOR.

- I)??? i02 m MM/mold km tively long and slender.

UNITED STATES WILL'IAM MEDD WATSON, OF 'IONIGA ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN G RAIN-SEPARATC specification forming part of LettersPatent No. $3.6M, dated October 29,1861.

' To toltomrit may concern:

'Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ,MED WAT- SON, formerly WILLIAM WATSON, of-'lonica, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Machine for Dividing Mixed Grain, but especially to Separate Oats from W heat, of which the following is afull, clear, andexact description, reference being had'lo the accompanying drawings,which make part ofthis specification, and in which Figure 1 represents alongitudinal sectionor my graimdivider. Fig. 2 represents a top View ofthe same, with the endless propellingapr'on. removed to 'expose'theperforated di viding-plate and the rollers by which the endilesspropelling-apron is stretched and-carried. Fig. 3 represents-a piece ofadividing-plate of full size which I have had successfully atwork toshow the actual size andrelative position of'perforations that havo beenfound in practice adequate to the complete division of cats and springwheat mixed in the proportion of three parts, by measure, of the formerto seven parts, by measure, of the latter,

the mixture being un'marketable as wheat, even at a price proportionateto the quality 1 of wheat in'the mixture, because of the difficulty ofseparating the oats'and their injury I to the quality of the flour whenthe mixture.

double its shortest diameter or thickness. The form of an oat-grainapproaches to that of an elliptic spindle with one end thicker and muchheavier than the other. Its thickness at its largest part is' about thesame as that of awheat-grain and its length is about double that of awheat-grain. 'lhe ,wheat seems short and thick and the cat compara- Ihave taken advantage of this difference in the form of the two kinds ofgrain to separate them; and my in vention is founded upon the theorythat if a mixture of those two grains be rolled in a Stratum of not morethan one grain in thickness over a plane surface by the continuousmotion of another parallel surface pressing against the grains, so as toroll them .or slide them by friction, andthus carry them forward, andthe lowermost of these planesur-L faces be perforated with numerousholes of a diameter about equal to three-quarters of the average lengthof the wheat-grains to"=be divided from the grains of oats, and thoseholes are in such position that several of them will be in the path ofeach wheat-grain in crossing the plane, and the wheat will all passthrough the holes, while the cats, being longer, will roll or slide overthe holes'to the end of the plane, by which means the twokinds of grainsare completely divided. If the wheat and cats were caused to slide orroll over the perforated plane by a jarring motion or by a rake orotherwise without at the same time pressing the oats so as to compelthem to'lie flat, whenever the heavy end of an oat overlaid one of theholes in the plane it would descend by its gravity tilting up the lightend and diving through the hole endwise and passing Thus it will downamong the wheat-grains. be seen that the essence of my inventionconsists in keeping such-pressure upon the grains of oats while passingover the perforated plate with the wheat as will prevent ,them fromturning sidewise and passing through the wheat-holes, their length beingso-great that they cannot pass thronghthe holes sidewise.

The machine shown in the drawings consists of a strong oblong frame A, ahopper B, to contain the mixed grain to be divided, a

perforated plate 0, to screen out. the wheat and retain the oats, anendless apron D,

stretched round rollers above the perforated plate,'the apron being of aa widt-h 'equal to that of the plate,with whichits lower portion isparallel and in close proximity throughout the whole extent of theperforated surface. The apron maybe kept properly stretched 'by springsarranged betweenthe rollers to press them apart, the journals of therollers to facilitate this object being set in sliding boxes. Ifpreferred, the boxes may be set by screws instead of springs at theproper distance apart. i

The apron may press upon the perforated plate with its own or anyrequired weight by .giving to theboxes of the rollers a vertical slidingmotion, supporting them on springs and pressing them down by a screw orby another spring more powerful than the supporting-spriu gs, whichshould be barely strong enough to counterbalance theweight of the rollsand apron. -By regulating the-pressure of the downward-acting spring theapron will and from 'the'endless apron, or-it may rest on springs thatpress it toward the apron with either a fixed force or one which isrendered variable by regulating the tension of the "spring by any commonand suitable adj usting apparatus. Astop'should .be so arranged astoprevent the apron hnd perforated platev from pressiughard together.Indeed, to pro duce the best etfectthey should not approxi mate nearerthan the thickness of the smallest grains of oats, as they have no'function to per-- formthat requires them to approach nearrtogether. 4 v

The machine is simplified by arranging'the perforated plate and apron ata fixeddistance apart equal to the smallest oats,- leaving theelasticityof the apron and plate to yield sufficiently to allow thepassage of the larger oats between them'.'" p

The'apron may be' made of' stout .d'uek, lined withfelt cloth'to make itelastic, or it. may be made of soft leather or india-rubber; and torelieve it from the wear and tear produced by stretching it round anddrivingit. by the rollers,-the apron may be secured to and-carried byleather belts encircling the rollers; i

The rollers may be turned by hand by. means of a crank affixed to-theouter. end of the journal of'one of them; or a pulley or cog-wheel-maybe affixe'd' to the same part, to

be turned by any convenient prime mover. This application of rotatingmotion to one roller from the connection of the two rollers by theendless band insures a corresponding motion of both rollers and-theband.

The perforated plate may be made of any thin metal. [prefersheet-iron,whic'h should be stiffened by ribs attached to its underside. If this plate should be cast, the'ribs would of course be cast inone piece with it. The top of the plate should be even and free \fromangles or roughness. The holes I prefer .to make round. Their edges onthe upper side of the plate should be rounded and smooth,

Theyshould be of the size represented in Fig. 30f the drawings forcleaning wheat the average length of. whose grains is one fourth morethan the diameter of the hole.

mixed grain to be divided.

For I wheat of considerably greater or less average length, plates withholes of a cprrespondingly enlarged or diminished dia'neter must be.provided. Three or. four plates with differentsized holes will probablybe sulficient for dividing the mixtures of all the diiferentvarieties ofwheat and oats that are offered to' any great extent for sale. The holesin one row should beplaced opposite the spaces between the holes in thenext row, and the spacesbetweenthe holes should 'be exactly equal to thediameter of the-holes. Thisan. rangement of the holes rendersit'difficult for a grain of wheat t0 get across the plate withp outfalling through.

The machine should be provided with a.

hopper of any convenient size to contain the' At the lower side of thehopper there should be a vibrating shoe of the usual form to dischargethe wheat in an even stream from the. hopper and feed it betweentheapron and perforated plate.

The shoe of the hopper maybe vibrated by; -motion derived from therollers that drive the apron. The grain as it falls'from the hopper iscarried by the motion of the apronbearing. on it to and across theperforated 'plate, and'as the grain passes over the plate the wheatdrops through, or, rather, is pressed through, the holes very quickly,so that little of it reaches the "middle and very little or none getsacross, the plate;

The oats being kept by the-pressure of the apron lying down 'on theirsides .upon the plate and being too long to pass sidewise through theholes'fthey are carried by the motion of the apron across the platewhile thus held down and discharged at the end intoa spout E, providedfor the purpose.- A plate from one to three feet in length is sufficientto divide anymixture of wheat and oats. For plump short wheat and longoats a foot is sufficient for-the separation. Long shriveled wheatand'short plump oatsrequire alonger plate. The wheat, dropping throughthe-plate, lodges in a receptacle beneath, while the oats, beingretained, as before explained, are carried to the end of the plate bythe apron and discharged by the spout in a heap by themselves on thefloor or into any convenient receptacle. I 1

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is- Amachine composed of a pressure-carrier, a perforated surface, and afeeding mechan-' ism for dividing mixed grain and depositing the severalkinds in separate places, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

